Our New $XX,000 Radio

Well, it happened. We had to trade our minivan in for a new one if we were going to get any money out of it at all. It was about to tank! I knew it was bad when Justis said, "The vans doing it's shaky thing, open your mouths!" At his cue, the four of them opened their mouths and said..."Aaaaaaa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a." The shaky van made their voices have the best vibrato I've ever heard. Leave it up to kids to find the positive in ANYTHING!

That was a week ago and within 5 days Travis and I decided we'd better not drive it again until we were ready to go trade her in. We weren't sure it would make it to Baton Rouge, where we chose to buy our "new" vehicle. It barely made it. Now it's not our liability anymore.

We did our research before buying this time. We failed to check reliability on 2001 Chrysler Town & Country minivans before we bought ours in 2004. You live and learn. The van has been without a radio for close to a year and has also been doing its shaky thing for that long. Water leaked up through the front passenger side floorboard two times in the last two years. Despite attempts from three of our best mechanics and numerous other people to figure out the problem, nobody knew what made the mystery shake (which made the engine light glow).

We decided about two months ago to take a look at vans so we were prepared when the day came to choose our next vehicle. We chose a Toyota Sienna as target vehicle because of its used reliability ratings and good gas mileage for its size. Plus, we've had a Toyota before and WE had to part with it at 213,000 ONLY because our family outgrew it! That's reliability. We went to the internet after we knew the features we wanted to save time. Our search narrowed to the three Toyota dealerships in Baton Rouge because of the competative market there and, therefore, low prices.

Have you ever gone car shopping with four kids? Have you ever gone car shopping in Baton Rouge when an LSU game is playing IN Baton Rouge? Some of you may have answered yes to that first question, but it's doubtful your car shopping has been effected by an LSU game. Here's the deal. A sweet lady named Miss B. got a sweet sale yesterday afternoon becuase she was on the lot waiting for her next customer instead of sitting in the brake room watching the LSU game. The experience was pleasant for all of us and we got a great deal. There was no rough talk haggling or urgency in the deal. On top of the great price they offered us, Travis also bartered an upgrade to leather seats for free! We also chose to have a DVD player put in.

My favorite thing about the minivan is the peace of mind that comes with owning a Toyota.

The kids' favorite feature is the RADIO! They kept telling the sales people we talked to, "The ONLY thing the matter with our van is that it has no radio. It's a bummer!" The kids also love the sliding door mirrors that roll down. Since when did they start making automatic sliding door wi ndows? Cool!

"We have a new radio!" the kids excitedly exclaimed as we went to load up in our used (but new to us!) 2007 Toyota Sienna. Travis gave us a treat, took us out to eat at Raising Canes, and we cruised smoothly back home from Baton Rouge, enjoying our new "radio." I bet that's the most expensive radio we'll ever buy!